Deep Jewels Featherweight Champion Seo Hee Ham will compete at home for the second time this year when she takes on Ukrainian prospect Alyona Rassohyna at Road Fighting Championship 18 on August 30th in Seoul, South Korea. The atomweight matchup was announced this past weekend.
Ham made her Road FC debut in April and posted a Unanimous Decision win over teen prospect Shino VanHoose in an entertaining bout. Rassohyna had a five-fight winning streak snapped by Invicta FC title contender Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää in May and now makes her atomweight debut.
Ham (13-5-0) has achieved her greatest success in MMA since dropping to 105 pounds this past year. She defeated Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama on the final Jewels card to capture the Jewels Featherweight Queen Championship, which was subsequently renamed the Deep Jewels Featherweight Championship when Jewels merged with Deep in August. Ham retained her title by defeating Sadae “Manhoef” Numata at Deep Jewels 2, then fought at home in South Korea for the first time in her MMA career in the bout with VanHoose. Most recently, Ham outpointed Yuuki Kira in a kickboxing match at Deep Jewels 4.
Rassohyna (10-3-0) quietly made a name for herself in the Ukraine with wins in eight of her nine fights between March 2012 and November 2013. The 24-year-old became a staple of Oplot Challenge cards, where she posted six victories via first-round armbar. With momentum on her side, Rassohyna took a big step up in competition to face her toughest opponent to date in May, but Kankaanpää’s experience and skills proved to be too great and she forced Rassohyna to submit to an armbar early in round two. Rassohyna seeks a fresh start at 105 pounds and could vault up the rankings with a win over Ham.
Road Fighting Championship 18 takes place on August 30th at the Grand Hilton Seoul Convention Center in Seoul, South Korea.